When I was a little kid--

i remember going to an aunt's house. she was elderly then, but she knew how to entertain a little kid. her little house was full of neat things, treasures, and i would just look at stuff and think back to when she was a little kid like i was. she had a little shelf in the kitchen loaded with Red Rose Tea Figurines. How i loved to play with them, kept me amused for hours, while mom and dad visited grown up stuff. there i would be, my imagination running wild, with these little ornaments. When my aunt Helen ( my maternal grandmothers sister)passed away, a package arrived, it was her entire collection of figurines. i was so happy that she thought i hsould have them, above her own grandkids :)  i also remember a little book that she gave me for, i think it was my 10th birthday, called 'there's just one you'. it was a small hard cover book with pictures of kittens and cats in it, along with a verse under each picture. i still have it, and when i look at it, i see my aunt helen sitting in her favorite chair, smiling at me. 


having older parents was a good thing for me. i mean, i grew up listening to big band music, and appreciating my elders. kids today aren't like that i don't think. i remember going to my aunt joyce's house (dad's sister) and going downstairs and playing with a set of bongo drums, that they had picked up from some far away land. i remember slide shows, where uncle ralph would set up the projector and we would see distant lands, and their home in florida. i also remember going biking with my cousin, karen. she used to take me around the trails. i have good memories of that time. i admired my cousin. and still do. for now, some 35 yrs later, we reconnected while she was working in my fair city. it was nice. and we chat online almost every day. neither she nor i are much for phone calls, and online is faster, and we both like the contact. 


whilst i am on the topic of childhood memories, my aunt ada (my maternal grandfathers' sister)  lived outside of montreal, and we used to go there frequently when i was little. cousin dan was not around much, but cousin pat was....he never really played with me, he was a lot older than i was, but i could look up from whatever game i was playing and look over my shoulder and see him, leaning back against the wall, pipe in hand. pat always seemed to quietly keep an eye on the little girl who played in the big side yard. there was a small stream that ran through their property, perfect place for frogs. big ones, little ones, it was awesome. i never ventured into the stream, but there were enough frogs just at the side that i could catch and release. one of my strongest memory triggers is the smell of home baked bread or rolls. i am instantly transported back to that little 1.5 storey home in st. lazare.  aunt ada and uncle john have been gone for years now, and i lost touch with cousins pat and dan. but i still think of them with love. 

i think of them all with love. 

so, what triggers your fondest memories?  make tonight GREAT~ poet.